Boarder Breach
by NikkiSauce
Summary: Using a star shard to transport herself and her talking pet cat, Papogo, after their home world started to disappear, Laurla ends up stealing a less than charming man's sword for some munny, and gets caught. But both are searching for someone, so they decide to team up. Well, she decided. Not so much him. SLOW!OCxCloud. Happening a couple months before KH1.
1. Prologue

**Hey guys~! So. This is my work in progress KH story. First time ever writing for KH so cut me a little slack please ;u;! It'll get better I promise! And yes it's OCxCanon, but it's REALLY slow. Cloud's not gonna start liking the OC for a WHILE. So try and give it a chance! But there might be a LITTLE fluff here and there. Might look more like friendship. But trust me, it'll get there. Starting a couple months before KH1, so Sora and Riku and Kairi are STILL on their little island~ **

**Hopefully Laurla doesn't seem too Mary-sue. I don't think she does, but who knows.**

**No flames. Constructive criticism is welcome, but blantly screaming "MARY-SUE" isn't. **

**Hope you guys enjoy! Review and such! /confetti.**

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** –Prologue –**

Don't stop. Keep running. He has to be somewhere. He has to be somewhere. There's no way he could have just up and disappeared. Rocks fall off the tall structures they all once called monuments. People are screaming, in every direction, every corner of their great city. She should help them, but she can't even help herself. She doesn't know what to do. She doesn't know what's going on. She's so confused. She's so scared.

Black as night, the creatures form in front of her. Seething and wriggling, convulsing like someone having a seizure. She's seen what they can do. She's seen their power. They might be weak, but in numbers they are strong. They jump on you and hold you down. Pull out the thing they desire most. Watch it float away into the air and then watch you turn into one of them. A black, inky like creature. Evil. Tainted.

Heartless.

She won't let them take her. She won't become one of them. She refuses. There's only three in front of her, only three, she dodges their advances, wiggles through their dispersed position and takes off, not looking back to see if they're following. They probably are, unless they've discovered someone else, unless they've found another to satisfy their thirst.

She goes back to searching for him. Goes back to calling his name. Goes back to trying to hold back the tears that threaten to spill from her pale pink orbs. She won't allow them to break through the hold, remembering the elder's words about strength of the mind and strength of the heart. Emotions that are visible leave you vulnerable. She couldn't count how many times her older brother had drilled that saying into her mind when she was younger. She couldn't count how many times she'd deny it. It only hurt you more to hide what you were feeling, her mother had told her that, they're mother had told her that. But even so, as she grew older, she found that it was best at times to do that, and then over time she found that it was best to do it _all_ the time. It was easier that way. It was safer. She'd be weak if it weren't for that. She hated the thought of being weak. Hated the thought of succumbing to someone else's strength. That's why she couldn't give into these dark creatures consuming her home world. That's why she couldn't hold back, why she couldn't give up.

She calls his name again and again. Her desperation growing and growing. She can't stop. She won't stop. But she knows. She knows he's gone. If he was here, he'd already have found her and took her to safety. She didn't want to believe that. She wanted to believe that he was still in the city somewhere, looking for her just as desperately as she was for him. And yet…

"Laurla! Laurla! Hey Laurla!"

Turning her top half a little to look behind her, her eyes catch a small figure bounding for her. His light blue and white fur is unmistakable, and his orange shawl just as equally unmistakable. Running on his four legs,—quite odd to see him running as such, since he walks on two legs most the time—Papogo, her talking cat, skids to a stop, narrowly bumping into her leg, but manages to steady himself. In his hand, she notices a backpack, a dull purple and dark violet color. She bends down to his level, but makes sure beforehand to give a glance around them to see if it's safe to just stand about. The creatures are nowhere in sight, and she supposes that she should count them both lucky, for now.

"What is it, Papogo? Found him?" She knows he hasn't, he'd have already told her. She's certain of that. But she can't help but wish it. Can't help hoping…

"E-Elder said we should go! Says the world won't last for long, and if anyone's going to escape this than it's us. Said that we shouldn't worry about them! That some keyblade bearer will deal with all this!" Papogo looks at her wearily, probably thinking that the old guy is crazy.

She shook her head, blinking. This isn't the time to question the Elders. But how does he expect them to do such a thing? They don't have any source of transportation. And why them? Why not the other much stronger village protectors? Taking the backpack from the cat, the girl stands up straight, and unbuttons the flap, throwing it open to reveal her family heirloom twin daggers, her pack of throwing dagger, and a strange shining object. She reaches for that, picking it up carefully, and pulling it out.

It's in the shape of a star, and shining even brighter now than it had been in containment. She hears Papogo question it, and feels his paw touch her leg.

But she doesn't have time to voice her own curiosity. Darkness surrounds them in an instant, and instead of the normal twitching, small fry creatures, soldier dressed predators appear, surrounding them easily. Laurla curses under her breath. They need an escape. A quick one. A safe one.

The soldiers descend onto them.

Only to be sent flying back by a shining white light.

When they recover, the two vulnerable prey they'd been about to attack are gone. Nothing left of them.

They don't dwell on their disappearance long, their one track minds are already rolling, and they are on to the next prey just along the broken rocky road.


	2. Chapter 1

**Not much to say ;u; I hope you guys enjoy! Review and such! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: _i always forget to do this._ I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Cloud! But I do own this plot as well as Laurla and Papogo! **

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** – Chapter 1 –**

A gasp ripped from her pale pink lips as she jolted up from her sleep. Sweat beads down her forehead, and her light ash blonde hair sticks to her face. Another dream. The same one. A reoccurring dream, at this point Laurla could recite it down to the last detail. From the beginning, chasing after her older brothers image, reaching out for him, and then the ending, getting consumed by the darkness. She sat there, in the tiny little makeshift bed, staring down at her hands, which were clenching the ends of her red scarf tightly, her knuckles pure white. Her heart slowed its pace after she took deep slow breaths. Her clenched fists came unwound and fell into her lap. It was just a dream. It wasn't true. It was just a dream.

Reaching up, Laurla rubbed her eyes with the tips of her fingers, massaging her closed eyelids. She just needed to relax. She just needed to get her mind off it all. Standing, the nineteen year old turned, looking at the rooftops that went on and on. She'd never seen such buildings, used to the temples and monuments in her home world. It was obvious that this world was a lot more advance then theirs. Her shoulders went slack as a breeze picked up, blowing her short, curly locks into her face. They'd been here for three days. Sleeping atop an apartment rooftop, eating what little they could scrounge up from garbage cans. She wasn't proud of it, but it was all she could provide for the two of them. Papogo complained, but then again he _always_ did, so she wasn't really that surprised.

Speaking of Papogo, the talking cat was stirring, awaking from his curled up position. He stood up on his feet, all fours at first, stretching like a cat could, and then pushed himself up, now on just two legs. "Morning," Laurla smiled, bending down. She reached up and scratched the back of his left ear, the way he liked it, and smiled even wider hearing him purr and watching his blue and white fluffy tail twitch.

"G'morning," he drawled out sleepily, yawning afterwards, flashing his fangs. Papogo, a little bit more awake, reached down and grabbed his bright orange shawl, and put it back on. "Breakfast?"

Laurla, standing but her eyes on him still, shook her head. "Nope. Got things to do. More important than food."

"But how can we do those things without food, Lulu," whined the cat. "You know I need to eat before I do anything requiring mass amounts of energy! I can't do _anything _on an empty stomach! I'll be totally worthless the entire time. This is just unfair! This is unjust! How could you be so cruel to your pet—"

"Stop you're whining, Papogo." The girl rolled her eyes, and sighed in exasperation. "I know you're tired of eating garbage. And we don't exactly have any money for food. So…that leads us to today's first priority!"

"Please don't say—"

"Job hunting!"

Cue groan.

As enthusiastic as the female had been before when exclaiming their important goal for the day, Laurla was sadly having no luck finding any jobs at all. There was just no place hiring. She was desperate for a job. They really needed the munny. For both food and also a gummi ship, which apparently cost a lot, having met up with a guy who sold them and discovered they cost more than an arm and a leg. It was just ridiculous! She still had the star shard they'd used to get to this planet, but Laurla refused to use it again. The thing acted entirely on its own the last time it was used, and she was sure it'd do it again if she tried. She was looking for something a lot easier to control, and not so much of a hassle. To be honest, she was scared of using the shard. If it could take her anywhere it could surely take her back to her own world, and there she was sure she'd encounter the creatures again. She didn't want that. Not one bit.

So the two outsiders kept searching, Papogo often commenting on how she was a thief and that she wasn't using that to her advantage at all. She hadn't thought of it before. She was indeed a thief, skilled in the field fairly well. She was sneaky and she was sly, so why _didn't_ she use this to her advantage? Maybe it was because she wanted to try and earn the money the hard way. Like normal everyday people did. Stealing was a cake walk, sure, and it would be quicker to just steal from people. They were pressed for time, Laurla wanting to get the ship and skedaddle out into the vast space to search for her missing brother, but she wasn't even sure if he'd gotten off their home world safely. She wasn't sure about anything currently.

Hanging her head, the girl let out a sigh, about ready to give up and just fall onto her backside in the middle of this street and wait for someone to just run her over with their bicycle or something. Yeah that sounded about right. Anything to put her out of her misery. While falling deeper into her angst, Papogo was busy looking around. His cat eyes glided around at the shops around them, until sticking to a certain one, noticing a 'Now Hiring' sign in the window. He let out a loud meow and started tugging on Laurla's light tan stockings.

"What, Papogo?" she asked in a pitiful tone. She looked down at him and then followed his paw, pointing rather vigorously at something. That's when she saw it. Her pink eyes were suddenly engulfed with stars, and she grabbed her best friend by his shawl, hauling him along with her as she ran to the door, entering.

It was a restaurant. The floors were checkered tile, and there was a long wrap around table surrounded by chairs, separating the door to the kitchen and also the cash register. Lots of booths took up most of the remaining space. Upon entering, an older woman wearing a tight all black uniform walked over to her. Laurla noticed she walked rather provocatively, her hips swaying in an exaggerated way. The girl didn't know if she meant to or not. It was rather strange, especially since Laurla had never seen anything like it. Woman didn't act like that in her world. They were…well they were conservative and they certainly didn't perk up their lips like this girl was doing. The jobless thief's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Just what was this girl doing?

"Hey sugar~" _Sugar_? "What can I do for you? Need a table?"

"Um…no…actually uh me and my friend saw the 'Now Hiring' sign and I was going to ask if I could get the job…but now I'm not too sure." She said the last part under her breath, not really wanting the older woman to hear it and get the wrong idea. Laurla needed a job, but she wasn't sure about this place anymore. If she got the job, she wouldn't act in such a way the girl was.

"Friend?" The weird acting woman glanced down at Papogo, who was standing close to Laurla. "A cat? Walking on two legs? How weird!"

Papogo scoffed. "Weird? Lady I'm not the only weird one here."

"Papogo!" his owner hissed under her breath. "Be _nice_! We need this job!" Quickly, she looked back to her woman, saying rather fast, "I'm so sorry! He's normally not like this! Please excuse him!" It was a lie, but god could you blame her for it? She needed the job!

The woman seemed in a daze, not really reacting very well. Her weird act was paused for a couple of long seconds, and she got out, "A…talking…cat?" before falling back, fainting much to their surprise. Her back smack the tiled floor rather harshly, making even the cat cringe. Laurla yelped, at the woman's side in a minute, her eyes wide. "A-Are you okay! Oh gods! Please tell me you're okay! Look I'm sorry! Like _really_ sorry! I need this job, Miss! I really do! Please wake up! Holy shit please!" She felt like crying. She couldn't believe this! Why her? "Papogo! I can't believe you! Ugh I should have left you outside! I'll never get the job now! Good for nothing talking cat!"

"What the hell is going on here," a voice so stoic and stern came. The nearly sobbing girl looked up to find a man walking towards them. His hair was significantly gray, but despite this he was well built, muscles visible. "I'm the manager. What's going on here?"

"Uh…um." She couldn't find her voice all of a suddenly, trembling a little. Sentences completely unknown to her. The manager? Was he the one who hired and fired people? "Uh…um…"

The man groaned, mumbling something about being surrounded by idiots, and then bent down beside the woman. "Lizzy? Lizzy are you okay?"

"Talking…cat…walking…on…two…legs," was her reply, her eyes blank, staring up at the ceiling. This caused the man to groan even louder and then call another worker girl's name. This one acted a little more normal than Lizzy did, her light brown hair tied back into a tight bun fashion. She, with the help of the Manager, gathered the limp body of Lizzy from the floor, and then she took the poor woman away from them, leaving the Manager there to attend to Laurla and Papogo.

Satisfied at seeing one of his workers in good hands, he rounded on them, his dark eyes drilling into Laurla. The girl suppressed a shiver, and stood up straight, trying and probably not succeeding at looking tough. "What do you want, girly?" he asked, suspicious of her.

"I was looking for a job and saw your sign," she told him, not stuttering over her words, and controlling her tone fairly well. "I'm really in need of one."

"I see," he muttered, and she felt his eyes travel down from her face to the rest of her body. She tried not to squirm, but she was certain she'd failed. His gaze was very uncomfortable suddenly. When his eyes were back on her face, she questioned him, asking if something was wrong, and if she could have the job.

He shook his head. "No."

Laurla blanched. "B-But why! I'm fully qualified—"

"You're too pale. You're not sexy. You're cute. I don't hire cute. Hiring cute doesn't bring people to this establishment. Sexy does. Sexy is what keeps people, most importantly _males_, coming back to this restaurant. Cute does some, but not as much as sexy. You have no sex appeal at all, girly. Sorry. You don't get the job." He said it with such finality, it knocked the girl back. She felt so small, so mediocre. A joke. A total laughingstock.

Papogo, having stayed silent for long enough, let out a screech, his claws coming out as he launched himself at the man. He stopped though when Laurla stepped in front of him. But the movement was very robotic, like she was a machine. On her face, an expression of pure hatred and anger was visible. She no longer felt small, no longer felt like a joke or a laughingstock. She was angry. So very angry. She didn't quite understand how a man could treat a girl in such a way. In her world, men treated women with respect and with the utmost gratitude. Even though women didn't have high social standings, men respected women and took care of them.

"Well I'm _so sorry_! I didn't know an _asshole_ ran this place, or I wouldn't even have tried to get a job here! Who wants a pig headed old man for a manager anyways," she snapped. "Come on Papogo! Let's go! We'll find a job at a much better restaurant! Or…a better place all together!"

Before she could exit the place though, the man seemed to have something else to say, or ask. "Hey girly?"

Turning, her hands fists, Laurla met the man's eyes once again. "What?"

"Where'd you get that there marking? You know…the one below your right eye?" His finger pointed at it, his head tilted a little to the side. Reaching up, the girl touched right where she knew it was, where it would always be. Dark red, the tattoo was an important symbol to Laurla, actually, to all the people of her world. Starting out as a simple little half circle, the top part of the circle cut of, a little limb hooking towards two dots place up and down from each other, and at the bottom of the circle was another much longer hook.

"Why does it matter?" Her eyes narrowed glaring at the man, her lips pressed tightly together. She wasn't used to such a question, simply because everyone back in her world had a tattoo like hers. Not the same one, everyone when they're young was designated a certain design. No person had the same design, everyone's was one of a kind, unique, theirs. It was a title, and everyone had one. Laurla's tattoo symbol was Fortitude, which didn't understand. If anyone had strength of the mind and the courage to face any pain or adversary, it was her older brother.

"It's just strange," the manager shrugged lightly. "I think I've seen something along the lines of yours. A boy had one too."

A boy?

"Yeah now that I remember yeah he kind of did. Came in about two days ago, asking about his sister or something. Gave a description of her…hey wait…yeah! His description of her! You look like her! Short, shoulder length curly ash blonde hair. Not very tall, but a little tall thanks to the heels on her brown boots. Dark green long sleeve shirt, the upper arms cut out, showing off her pale skin. Red scarf, tied at the back. A brown, cut up skirt like thing, held tightly by a set of red lining, followed by light tan stockings, with a dark square fabric hang off the top of the stockings! Holy…yeah you're totally her!"

Laurla's world slowed at that exact moment, and then rushed back. It felt like she'd walked into a brick wall. The manager's words sending up a red flag. Her brother. It had to be. Her brother! She had the fabric of his black shirt in her hands in one foul movement. "Did he tell you anything? Where he was going? What he was doing? Was he okay? Did he look healthy? Unharmed? Safe? Speak man! SPEAK!"

"Whoa whoa! Lulu give the man a chance to talk," Papogo exclaimed, clearly as shocked as her, but fully in control himself.

Taking deep breaths to calm herself, Laurla relinquished her hold on the man and took a step back. "I'm sorry…I just…He disappeared a while back and I just…" She fell silent, unable to say anything more. She was now in a daze, like Lizzy had been.

Scratching the back of his head, the manager finally replied, "He didn't say much. Just asked if you were here. He did say to tell you if I saw you that he's alright and that he's traveling the worlds a little. But girly you should know—"

"Did you hear that Papogo! He's alive! He's alive and safe and waiting for us to come travel the worlds with him! I just know it! Now we've really gotta get some munny! We've really gotta get one of those gummi ships!" Laurla picked Papogo up, spinning him around, high on happiness. "Oh thank you so much sir! I'm not going to forgive you for the words earlier, but I definitely like you a little! Thank you so much! Really! Come on Papogo let's go look for more available jobs!"

The manager watched as the ecstatic nineteen year old took off out of his restaurant, not looking back. He frowned, quite displeased that he couldn't tell her that her brother was in fact safe, but there was something weird about him. Something different. He felt there was something wrong with the boy. That the boy had this…

This essence of darkness radiating off him.

He didn't look like a normal boy in his mid twenties. He looked…dark. He looked…heartless.

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Giddily, the blonde and her companion ran down the street. She couldn't stop smiling, even though her cheeks were hurting. She just couldn't stop. She was so happy. So very happy to know her brother was safe and not totally gone. He was still missing, but with that little information she knew that he wasn't unreachable, that he was out there, waiting for her to find him. She couldn't have been any happier at that moment.

Until she came across a strange treasure leaning against a buildings wall, next to some kind of shop.

Skidding to a stop, the girl looked over at the treasure, eyeing it up and down. It was a sword, with bandages wrapped around it. Inclining her head, she stepped close to it, running her fingers over it. Cool to the touch. Metal. Valuable.

_Valuable_.

Everything started to roll through her mind. Sword equals valuable. Valuable equals munny. Munny equals gummi ship. Gummi ship equals transportation to other worlds and a chance to find her brother. Oh gods.

Stars overcame her eyes once again. She could almost see the munny she'd get from selling this. She could almost feel it. Oh it would feel so magnificent. Oh so magnificent. Totally worthy of rolling around it. Yes she could see it all. It had to come true. Had to come true. She'd make it come true! After all, the sword _was_ just sitting here. It was like someone was asking for it to get stolen! Perfect. Just perfect! A thief's easiest steal!

"Looks heavy," Papogo mumbled, tapping it with his paw. He glanced up at his owner wearily.

"I don't care." And she didn't. She was too fixated on the prospect of mounds of munny. Reaching out, Laurla gripped its handle, tugging on it. Loads heavy, that was true, but she was sure she'd manage. Taking the handle in two hands, the girl managed to lift it up far enough off the ground so it wouldn't drag. Still it was hard to do, and her muscles were screaming for her to stop the torture. She didn't listen. Instead she took a step forward. Easy. Another step. Easy. A couple more. Easy as pie. It wasn't until she was a little ways away from its original place when she heard someone yell and her instincts told her to run. Run as fast as she could.

"Run, Lulu," Papogo ordered, but she already was, adrenaline coursing through her suddenly, making it easier to run and carry the stolen good. Her legs pumped, sweat already beading down from her forehead and her arms. She didn't stop though. Not once. And she didn't look back either, even when she heard someone calling out to her, telling her to stop. She couldn't. She had too much riding on this. Too much at stake. She couldn't find a job, so this was going to have to do. Forget working hard to get the munny. Stealing was always the way to go for her. Stealing was a hell of a lot simpler!

Only, she hadn't thought any of this through. That didn't hit her until she rounded a corner, thinking it'd lead to another section of the city and was met with a decent sized wall of stone. If she wasn't carrying the huge sword, she might have been able to scale it and climb over it, but she was horrible cornered.

"That's as far as you go."

Chills ran down her spine at the voice. It was cold, harsh sounding, and laced with a decent amount of venom. She heard Papogo hiss at the owner, and felt him back up against her protectively.

"Just hand over the sword. And no one will get hurt."

Laurla's grip around the handle tightened, and she was fully aware that she wasn't getting out of this now. They were cornered. Turning, the female finally saw their captor.

And it was then that she _actually realized_ that they were going nowhere.

And that she had never seen a guy like him. _Ever_.

And he kind of took her breath away. Made her legs shake and arms turn to jelly.

But that was because of the running and carrying such a big, heavy sword.

Right?

Somehow mustering up her voice, she said, with a sly smirk, "Is that a threat? Or a promise?"


	3. Chapter 2

**First of all I am SO sorry for the delay! I developed a huge writers block! But I finally wrote! Sadly, I'm not very happy with it! Please forgive me! I tried not to do anything like this but it just happened! Hopefully I won't lose any followers! Speaking of followers THANK YOU SO MUCHHH~ So many followers! And even a fave! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I'd LOVE to hear what you guys think! So review away! **

**I'm trying to keep Cloud in character. It's a bit sketchy in this chapter but it'll get better I promise! Hope you guys like it! No flames! Constructive critism is welcome! Just no flames please! Thank you!**

**disclaimer: I do not own KH or Cloud! But Laurla "Arrow" and Papogo as well as their world and this plot is mine! **

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** – Chapter 2 –**

"Is that a threat? Or a promise?"

She'd spoke those words so carelessly. She'd asked it like she wasn't scared and wasn't frightened of the cold, unwavering man just a couple of long strides in front of her. But it was just a front, a façade so skillfully created, hardly any emotions were shown. Hardly any. She couldn't control the beads of sweat rolling down her forehead, nor the slight, almost barely noticeable shaking in her arms and legs. She thought for sure he could hear the pounding of her uncontrollable heart. She didn't understand what was going on. She didn't understand why she was so hot, so sweaty and clammy, so fearful, so…vulnerable.

He barely moved an inch. His eyes planted on her. He didn't look away. He wouldn't.

Her brain started to scream.

_Leave me alone! I've done nothing to you! All I've done is steal a sword! Just leave me alone! You're making me feel weird, and I hate it! I hate it more than ever! Just go away! Just walk away! I need this! I need the munny! I need it can't you understand that! Just. Go. Away. Please! _

Laurla resisted the urge to chew on her lip till it bled, a force of habit she'd developed at a young age when she was a nervous wreck.

She probably still was. Had been for years, ever since her older brother had started training her in the ways of their father, and his father before him. She could remember it like it was yesterday. Her brother and her sparring with stick swords, practicing their slashes, dodges, and jabs. Sneaking out at night to climb trees and jump from tree branches, honing their reflexes. Such things were forbidden, at least to females. Still, her brother risked his own place in their society to help his little sister fulfill her dream.

A dream that seemed so distant now. So very, very distant.

Laurla resurfaced from her thoughts when she heard Papogo hiss once again. The man was now a little closer, his eyes now on the sword still in her possession. Her gripped instinctively tightened around it, prepared for him to rush her and try to take it forcefully. She wouldn't doubt it. As they stared each other down, she became increasingly aware that he was growing impatient. The silence edged on, and finally the man raised a brown gloved hand and made a 'give it to me' motion with it. She answered with a shake of her head, and a defiant smirk.

No words needed to be said. Both knew what one another were thinking. Laurla wasn't going to give it up, unless he offered something in return. He wasn't going to give up trying to get it back, and he would get it back.

Breaking that long, tense silence, Laurla began to question him. "This is your sword?"

No response. One wasn't needed. She knew it was his. He wouldn't be here if it wasn't his. He wouldn't have chased her down for it if it wasn't.

"Of course it is. But what I don't get is why you'd leave it just sitting out like that. You don't look like the kind of guy to just give something like this up so easily." Using the sword, Laurla leaned her weight against it, tapping her chin. "You're really irresponsible, Mister Spiky hair! Really! I mean leaving it just out in the street! You don't even deserve to have this you know. I think it deserves a better owner! Like me!" A wide grin engulfed her face. "Unless…"

"I'm not giving you anything for it. Nothing but the chance to walk away unharmed. Just give me back my weapon, brat." A terse frown replaced her grin. Brat?! Did he just call her _brat_?!

"Don't call me that," she hissed. "Your chance at getting it back is slowly slimming, spike! Now…I won't give it back until we come up with a deal—Holy _SHIT _!"

He'd rushed her. Just like she knew he would, but poor Laurla had been caught off guard, angered completely by the name he'd called her. One minute she was the one in power, standing tall, the next they were both gripping the sword, both her hands wrapped around the long handle, his on the blades end. It was like a tug-a-war battle. He was stronger than she'd realized, but she was holding her own. She could have sworn she'd seen surprise and amusement flash across his face, but her eyes might have tricked her.

Papogo had been kicked away, and was now trying to stand up, but Laurla could tell it was hard. Anger and pure adrenaline coursed through her veins. How dare this man hurt her best friend! How dare he try to take away her chance at meeting up with her brother! How _dare_ him! The ash blonde haired girl gritted her teeth, seething. She was ready to let go of the sword and attack him. She was ready to show him a world full of hurt.

That is until she saw what was hanging on one of the belts around his waist. It was tiny, barely noticeable, but there.

A gummi ship key.

She almost gasped out loud, and dropped the sword all together. He had a gummi ship. This guy had a _gummi ship_. She could steal his key and race off to find it and then take it for her own! Oh this was seriously the best day ever. Right when she was once again going to do what she planned to do, Papogo decided it was time to attack, having came back to his senses. The talking cat positioned himself for launch, and then did so, roaring as his body smacked into the blonde male's head. This act caused him to loosen his grip, and Laurla acted quickly, tugging it away from him, and planned to run around him. The weight of the weapon however had other plans, and the nineteen year old tried desperately to hold it up, and not let it connect with the ground, where she'd surely lose grip of it too. Unfortunately, it happened, as Laurla backed up, the sword fell from her grip, and her forehead connected with the spiky haired man's jaw. Both toppled over, falling to the ground immediately.

Groans erupted from both their mouths, and they pushed themselves up by their hands. Laurla's head pounded relentlessly as she pushed herself back onto her back side. When she opened her eyes, she saw him sitting up too, rubbing his jaw. Her gaze then traveled down to where the key was, and quickly back to his eyes, which were glaring right at her.

She attacked. Reaching out as she threw herself at him, Laurla tried to grab the now targeted objected, but he caught on, and grabbed her wrist. It didn't stop her. Her body crashed into his, as she reached in to claim it with her other hand. He grabbed that one too. Laurla let out a growl, her pink orbs swimming with determination.

"What? First you want my sword now you want the key to my ship?"

The female didn't answered, her mind swarming with ideas on how to get out of this situation and still get the key. All her plots were looking bleak, extremely bleak because the guy's hold on her remained tight and controlled. It hurt, but she wouldn't tell him or show him that it did. It wasn't going to happen. Looking away, she found Papogo in a broken heap, knocked out cold. She cursed under her breath. No one to help. It was just her and him.

_Come on think! You've been in worse situations! What did brother tell you to do if this happened? …A distraction! That's it! What kind though? He's not open enough for me to knee him. Come on…there has to be something! Anything—oh…wait…I could…no I couldn't. No no no no—oh what the hell. IT HAS TO BE DONE._

"Hey…just give up. You're not getting either. So just give up and walk away. And I'll forget all about—"

Lips crushing again his cut of his next words.

She was kissing him.

Laurla was _kissing_ him. She'd imagined her first kiss being a little more romantic. As a kid, she'd often fantasized about it, but as she grew up and began to train, those silly thoughts became a memory. When she was taught the roles of the sexes, her childish dreams of having a prince for a husband and getting married in a field of flowers diminished. She didn't want to be like all the other women of her world, just housewives, bearing the children, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the husband and the kids when he was gone to work. Weak and spineless. She wasn't going to be one of those women; she was going to be greater. A warrior. A fighter.

She hadn't wanted to do it. Kiss him. It had to be done though. She'd needed a distraction, and as much as she wanted to deny that it wouldn't work, it had. He was shocked. Completely shocked. Too focused on her, and no longer focused holding her at bay. His grip was relaxed enough, and in one foul movement, Laurla had the key's chain broken off the belt and her body completely away from his.

The thief tried to grin. She tried to look smug. Her labored breathing and erratic heartbeat wouldn't let her. She didn't understand why she was so…so lost all of a sudden. Like she couldn't comprehend that she _had_ the key in her possession, and that she could grab her best friend and bolt out of the alleyway, escaping this man. Like suddenly nothing made sense anymore. She wasn't herself anymore. She was vulnerable again.

He was just as shocked. Just as stupefied. His vivid glowing blue orbs bore into hers. Why was he looking so flushed? His cheeks a light pink, hardly noticeable, but she noticed. Did she look that way? Was she flushing too? Did she look like him? Like a deer caught in headlights? Neither moved. Neither breathed at their full capacity.

And then fury took over. Almost uncontrollable fury. She didn't like him and he didn't like her and they both were going to get each other back for this. For making the other feel weird and stupid and confused and vulnerable.

Coming back to her senses, Laurla held up the key by the small bit of chain left, and wriggled it, smirking. "Now…how about that deal, spike?"

* * *

"This is a gummi ship," she gasped, arms outstretched, hands placed against the cool exterior of the grand sight. Her eyes were as big as saucers. "I've only seen tiny models and pictures! This is just so amazing. I can't even…I can't believe this." Laurla turned, beaming at the male a couple feet away from her.

Cloud Strife—as he'd introduced himself after getting tired of her calling him spike—had his arms crossed, an irritated look over his face. Laurla wondered if that was all his emotions amounted to. She'd only seen him look mad, annoyed and, upset; she wondered if he'd show more emotions as the journey took it's course.

Journey.

Her journey.

Their journey.

She couldn't hold back a giggle as she remembered the past half hour after her claiming his sword and then key.

"_I've been looking for a job to get munny so I could buy a gummi ship. Your sword looked really valuable so I was going to sell it for some! But now that I know you have one and I had its key in my beautiful hands, I want to make a deal with you! Key to your gummi ship for companionship!"_

"_What?"_

"_I'm looking for someone…and I need to get off this planet and to the next one so I can find him. The road ahead might be dangerous…and you look tough! How about we team up? I mean…you did say you were looking for someone too right? We can look for both our people together! How about it!"_

"_No."_

"_Please! Oh please! I need this, you have no clue! I promise not to steal anything else from you! I promise! And I don't break promises ever! So please, spike! I'll owe you one! No like…a _million_ ones! Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplea sepleaseeeeeeeee"_

"_Fine! Fine! Just stop yelling!"_

"_Yay! I promise I won't let you down, spike! Papogo and I will behave ourselves and be complete angels!"_

"_Yeah. Right."_

"_Shhh Papogo! Ahaha he's such a joker! But seriously, spike—"_

"_Stop calling me that. My name's Cloud. Cloud Strife. And stop yelling!"_

"_Alright! Cloud Strife! I like that name. It's really nice! A deals a deal! Take us to the ship, mister! If you will!"_

His eyes probed her, now slits as he studied the young girl. "What'd you say you're name was again?" he asked. Her lack of a quick response interested him, and she watched his eyebrow rise.

She didn't know if she wanted to tell him, suddenly. She'd always hated her name. Hated it with every fiber of her being. And…honestly she didn't trust him. Looking down to Papogo, who looked up at her, Laurla licked her dry lips. Her gaze flickered back to the waiting male.

She looked suspicious. Her lack of a quick response sent up red flags. Well, they'd always been up, ever since she'd stolen his sword. He waited for her to answer, knowing she would, and if she didn't then that was fine to. He didn't actually care, more than likely he'd just drop her off at the next world and be rid of her for good. She was trouble and he didn't need anymore trouble then he already had.

"Arrow," she answered, the name just coming to her. "My name is Arrow. And this is my best friend…Papogo."

Cloud's eyes dropped to the strange cat. Did cats normally stand on two legs and talk? Letting out a sigh, the blonde male ran a hand through his hair. This was going to be a long journey. He seriously hoped she'd disappear or something along it.

"Well! Are we going?" she asked, and when he nodded in response, he watched her eyes light up and her dance in her spot happily. Weird girl. Really weird. "Let's go! Let's go! Onward, Spike! Wahoo! Ahahaha! Come on Papogo! I call drivers seat!"

Before the swordsmen could protest, the girl and her cat raced into the ship. He groaned again. Why him? Why? Why was it always him?

"Come _on_, Cloud! Let's _gooooo_," Laurla called, her voice way to shrilly.

Shouldering his sword –having gotten it back from her finally— said man entered his ship.

Why? Why did he ever listen to that shop owner who refused to allow him access into his shop without removing his sword? Why?

This was all just some major—

"ONWARD, CLOUDY!"

"My name is _Cloud_! It's not that hard to say! Don't call me that!"

Major shit.

* * *

**EDIT: corrected some spelling errors. hope there aren't any i missed XD! **

**Ah and also! I'm plotting a sister story to this one! Another OC, from the same world as Laurla and Papogo, but she lands in a much different place and gets there differently too! Her name is Estella and she's TOTALLY different from Laurla! Her story will be called "Shattered Haze"! It's still a work in progress but you may be seeing it up pretty soon! Thanks for reading! Reviews are more than welcome, and in fact are fantastic. Might help motivate me into writing faster. Just saying. **


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